Notre Dame is reportedly close to moving their Olympic sports to the Big 12 and, as part of the agreement, could eventually schedule up to six football games per season against Big 12 teams.

Sources told Chip Brown of OrangeBloods.com that Notre Dame would likely play “three or so” football games against the Big 12 to start with before eventually adding more.

This doesn’t mean that Notre Dame is joining the Big 12 in football, only creating a scheduling agreement similar to what they currently have with the Big East. A motive for moving to the Big 12, Brown suggests, is that the Big East does not look like it once did.

Since Notre Dame joined the Big East Conference, Boston College, Miami (FL), and Virginia Tech have all left for the ACC. Pittsburgh and Syracuse are also leaving for the ACC, likely in 2013.

Is Chip Brown correct with his latest rumor? That remains to be seen. He was correct when he predicted that the Big 12 would stay together after the departure of Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska and Texas A&M.

But he also asserted that several ACC schools, including Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech and Miami, were in contact with the Big 12 about the possibility of joining. Those rumors were mostly denied.

After the playoff meetings in Chicago this week, Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick denied that the Fighting Irish were moving their non-football sports to the Big 12.

Speaking about Brown’s report, Swarbrick told the Chicago Tribune “I have no idea what prompted that. It is not based on any discussion, any meeting we have done.”

But Swarbrick did say there are three important factors to Notre Dame. One is the postseason format, two is their media relationship (i.e. TV deal), and three is “related to the stability of the Big East.” He went on to say that “…pieces of that are starting to fall into place, and that will put us in a time and place where we probably take a look at it and decide what we’re doing.”

Although Notre Dame hasn’t yet decided to move away from the Big East, it sounds like they will certainly weigh their options.

Garysaid....

Biggssaid....

Gary if ND moves their other sports to the big 12 the big east has no reason to cater to ND anymore. Next year they gain 6 more schools for football. They no longer have a need for ND. they were 8-5 last two years, 6-6 3 years ago, 7-6 4 years ago and 3-9 5 years ago. They made a bcs bowl 6 years ago. There is no reason why the Big East needs to give up a low to mid end bowl for a ND team that doesn’t even have any ties to the Big East anymore.

Kykiesaid....

Garysaid....

Notre Dame is everyone’s favorite partner to court when it comes to major conference realignment talks. The reason is the school holds a national brand and incredible tradition in the most important (read: money-making) sport of all: football. Despite the lack of success over the last decade or more, the Notre Dame brand is alive and well, and there’s not a conference in the country that wouldn’t want to add the Fighting Irish.
That said, the Big 12 has been the conference most connected over time to Notre Dame with the Big Ten also in play. Year after year, however, Notre Dame maintains its independence and doesn’t seem remotely interested in partnering up with its college football program. In fact, Jack Swarbrick, the school’s athletic director even went so far recently as to bolster his confidence publicly in the Big East.
“I have great confidence in it,” said Swarbrick. “I think the atmosphere reflected here, the focus on the future leadership of the conference are all steps towards that, the work that was done to replace the departing members. So that’s all good stuff. You know I don’t think there’s any reason to not be optimistic about their future.”
It’s an interesting statement about the school’s conference for all other sports, and it’s one that Swarbrick has to make at this point. But it’s clear the Big East is hardly “big” compared to other conferences, and the game of musical chairs about to be played could further distance conferences between each other in terms of money, sway and competition.
As much tradition as Notre Dame has, it also has to think seriously about the future. There’s more money than ever, and the tide is shifting dramatically these next few years (as it has in the last few).

Pig Ironsaid....

Rumor of the impending move of multiple ACC Teams to the B12. Now this rumor of ND scheduling up to 6 games yearly against B12 opponents. This all sounds great for the B12. All this possible B12 realignment would definitely put the B12 on par with the SEC or even above. I think for the short term the ND rumor is very possible with the B10 and Pac12 scheduling and the breakdown of the Big East. However all these distant games over years and years, I just do not see it. College Football is not the NFL. It’s fans travelling and rivalries, these long distances virtually destroy that. We’ve seen the smaller colleges attempt this, they break apart and reform in different configurations constantly. They can not form rivalries and the travelling costs kill them. You take the Arkansas-South Carolina football rivalry, it was contested. Arkansas had won a number of games but USC had a fair share. The fans cared nothing about that game. Fans couldn’t travel to any extent, no banter between fans. Twenty years of games. The SEC ended the game, it died without a whimper from anyone. That’s long distant college football games, they just do not work over the long haul.

gcdbfvsaid....

JeffinSanAntoniosaid....

Funny how the article never mentions ND’s continual three-game soiree with the Big Ten for the past two or three decades … nor any past efforts to have ND join the Big Ten. Why is that, do you think?

If ND schedules up to six Big 12 schools, I take it the Big Ten games will go away. I don’t know if ND forfeiting rivalry-type games with Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue, in favor of match-ups with Baylor, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, is really what the ND fan base wants.

jeffsaid....

iam a die hard nd fan till the end of time but all that said it just would not seem right not playing mich mich st. purdue and usc those games are the ones that us irish wake up in the morning for all though i would love to beat up west virginia every year cant stand the mountneers and i am a westvirginia resident